The upstream dam wall was made impermeable by a bituminous geomembrane protected by precast concrete blocks.

[8] The articial lake is surrounded by a landscape of rocky scree and a forest of laricio pines and beeches.

[9] The reservoir and surrounding forest have been designated a type 1 continental Zone naturelle d'intérêt écologique, faunistique et floristique (ZNIEFF).

[11] It covers 926.94 hectares (2,290.5 acres) and includes parts of the communes of San-Gavino-di-Carbini, Carbini, Porto-Vecchio and Levie.

[12] The ZNIEFF is in Crystalline Corsica, a large granite massif that is altered on the surface and has some fractures and veins of quartz.

[12] The ZNIEFF is a biotope favored by the Corsican nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi), the only bird that is endemic to France.

It is sometimes visited by mouflons (Ovis gmelini), and is potentially important for this species to repopulate its original range.